INDUSTRIAL BRANDING – DOES IT PAY OFF?

In a world characterized by the growth of global competition, a key question raised by business-to-business marketers is if brands in industrial markets really pay off, that is in which contexts and for what type of customers branding efforts are important and can bring competitive advantages for the companies owning those brands. The particularities and importance of branding in business has become a major field of scientific debate in the last years, but there are still questions unanswered and aspects unclear and under researched. Traditionally, B2B managers have been more skeptical about the benefits of branding, arguing that the organizational buying process is rational and focused on functional characteristics of the products and not based on the emotional values used in the B2C context. In this paper, we review the literature on brand equity in industrial markets and propose a synthetic conceptual model, with the purpose to shed more light on the issue of industrial branding

INGREDIENT BRANDING - A GROWTH OPPORTUNITY?

Co-branding is an increasingly used strategy, consisting of marketing products representing two brands or more. Ingredient branding fits in the scope of co-branding, consisting of the inclusion of key attributes of one brand into another brand as ingredients. Ingredient branding is one of the many brand strategies used in marketing to provide differentiation criteria for the customers. In recent years, its importance and incidence have dramatically increased Extant research provides disparate and limited understanding of contexts in which such contracts pay off. Our paper provides an extensive review of literature and research streams in ingredient branding, adding knowledge to theory and help for companies that need to establish and maintain a competitive advantage, by differentiating their offer on the markets they act on, in a globalized economy

DOES CSR ENHANCE MARKET PERFORMANCE FOR AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES?

This paper aims at analyzing the role of strategic CSR in creating stable long term performance in the automotive industry. The first part of the paper reviews the success factors for the European auto industry and analyses the influence strategic CSR has on these factors. In order to illustrate the relation between strategic CSR activities and the economic performance, the paper presents the strategic evolution of one of the most ancient motor companies on the international scene, namely Peugeot and evaluates the innovative ideas brought into the market, as well as its future prospects. The PSA Group holds a position of European leader in terms of CO2 emissions, with an average of 110.3 grams of CO2/km in 2014. The PSA Peugeot Citroen Group’s strategy is being increasingly oriented towards environmental protection and energy saving

THE INFLUENCE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITIES ON THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

This paper is positioned in the broader context of the natural resource-based theory of the firm and of the theory of dynamic capabilities. We have proposed the hypothesis that the organizational capabilities achieved by firms through environmental investments would lead to competitive advantages. Then we have tested this hypothesis, through the research method of survey, on a sample of 109 firms in the textile Romanian industry. In this sector, environmental management is more and more integrated into the operational the global activity of big retailers and there is a risk that smaller firms in the supply chain to have difficulties in fulfilling the requests of their retailer clients. The data was analyzed by the correlation and the regression method. The conclusions are that the organizational capabilities achieved through environmental investments influence positively only the competitive advantages based on costs and on differentiation, partially confirming our hypothesis

MITIGATING FINANCIAL RISK BY USING HEDGING STRATEGIES

Financial derivatives are now widely used by corporations to manage exposure to currency, interest rate, and commodity price risks. The motivation for non-financial firms to engage in corporate hedging is one of the most intensively discussed topics in corporate finance research. Recent financial theory suggests that there are several ways through which corporate hedging can increase firm value in the sense of the maximization of shareholder value. A rich body of literature consists of studies that have empirically investigated the theoretical explanations for corporate hedging, literature that presents rather mixed evidence for the drivers of corporate hedging. This paper investigates the effects of hedging activity on non-financial firm value and how operational hedging is related to and differentiated by financial hedging, by providing an extensive overview and synthesis of the existing literature

Comparative Analysis of Automotive Products Regarding the Influence of Eco-Friendly Methods to Emissions’ Reduction

This article utilized a multicriterial quantitative and qualitative analysis of the influence of eco-friendly methods in reducing emissions over the life cycle of automotive products. The new proposed multicriterial method is applicable where preferential criteria are independent of each other, and where uncertainty has not been incorporated into a formal model. The linear model showed how the values of several criteria related to the options could be combined into an overall value. The main objective of this research was to apply a multicriterial methodology to improve the accuracy of existing approaches in identifying the influence of eco-friendly methods to reduce emissions over the product life cycle, and to assist decision makers in the manufacturing process. The research questions were as follows: Which one of two automotive products (“Bus” or “Truck”) has the best environmental performance (EPP)? Which one of two automotive products (“Bus” or “Truck”) has the best overall environmental performance (EPAPL)? This research provided a detailed comparative analysis of a “Crosstown bus” and a “Tractor truck”, both made at the Industrial Park Romania Brasov, Romania, using a multicriterial analysis. This article provided an answer to the first research question, whilst only presenting the results for the second question. The results of the proposed multicriterial method applications provide a decision support base for environmental managerial decisions in the field of automotive production processes

Modern Treatment of Valvulopathies in Patients with Congenital Hemophilia

Hemophiliacs can develop cardiovascular diseases, including valvulopathies of various etiologies and severities. Some require surgical treatment. Performing cardiac surgery in hemophiliacs is a challenge because they maintain an increased risk of bleeding throughout their lives. Our review shows that with a multidisciplinary team and careful planning, cardiac surgery can be safely performed in these patients. Valve repair and bioprosthetic valves should be preferred over mechanical valves to avoid life-long anticoagulation. In patients who cannot receive a bioprosthetic valve, the use of the On-X mechanical valve might be considered because it requires less intensive anticoagulation after 3 months of treatment. Antithrombotic treatment is feasible in hemophiliacs only if the coagulation factor level is kept constantly above a specific trough limit. Our review is valuable because, for the first time, the available data on the modern surgical treatment of valvular disease in hemophiliacs have been synthesized and systematized